Following Criticism, Archie Cancels $350K Kickstarter
Responding to an uproar over its $350,000 "New Riverdale" Kickstarter campaign, Archie Comics has shut down the effort to crowdfund the launch of three newly revamped Archie series. The three series will still be released but over a longer period of time.
The $350,000 kickstarter was originally designed to fund "New Riverdale," a relaunch of three Archie serials, redesigned by teams of all-star creators. Eisner-winning humor creator Chip Zdarksky will take on Jughead, acclaimed “pretty girl” artist Adam Hughes is revamping Betty and Veronica, and Archie’s pioneering gay schoolmate Kevin Keller will get a new series drawn by longtime Archie artist Dan Parent in Life with Kevin. The three revamped series will be released alongside the long-awaited redesign of the company’s flagship comic, Archie #1 to be published later this year, produced by comics creators Mark Waid and artist Fiona Staples.
From the moment it was launched, the Archie Kickstarter campaign drew criticism and complaints over the size of the goal and how the funds would be used. Comic shop retailers were concerned that the money was being raised to fast track distribution of the new comics into mass market retailers like Walmart and Target. Archie added a FAQ item to the project page specifically denying that the relaunched series will be sold at those chains.
In a prepared statement Archie CEO John Goldwater said the now-cancelled Kickstarter was an effort to both celebrate the company’s upcoming 75th anniversary and “to try something new.” But, he said, “while the response to these new titles has been amazing, the reaction to an established brand like Archie crowdfunding has not been.” The new series will be published, Goldwater said, “albeit not as quickly as we would have hoped had we attained the funding via Kickstarter.”
